Final Dissertation Video

Ok, sorry for the delay in posting this up, but straight to the point! The film has been finished and I am awaiting it to be marked. I have posted the version I handed in to the university but I do intend to make an improved piece of work in the near future, since I found some ‘problems’ with it after rendering. But that will be after marking.

The file can be downloaded here

I will upload to a streaming host as soon as I have a chance (it's a big file, so may take a while...)

Now! The random information and blabbering…

So having reworked, cut, edited and completely rewritten my way through my dissertation project I finally finished.

Although I had to cut short a lot of what I originally intended to do from health problems and the loss of family members through the study period I would like to further pursue this idea with a more indepth series of Machinima shorts into Machinima production, history and genre.

So apologies to those who have waited to see this and for any faults within the file. I did not discover these until I rendered the disc and the deadline had passed so I did not want to re-open the file and sneak some extra time with it outside of the university set deadline.

The film ended up being less of a Machinima and more of a commentary piece. And do forgive me for the commentators voice, maybe a gnome wasn’t the best choice as host, but she really did give some character to it I guess!

Please feel free to leave any comments or critiques, as I really would love some constructive points and criticisms. It will only help me get it better next time. And if anyone see their video used in the film and would like it removed, please contact me as I did not have the chance to track down everyone who’se Machinima work I used and I am more than happy to comply to your requests for removal.

But please remember, critiques aside, take this as you see this. It was my first attempt doing any sort of Machinima footage for a real purpose and was also me extended my basic editing skills and those with video software. I intend to build upon these skills and make a much better piece of work in the future – especially on my original Avatar fantasy Machinima idea, I am still looking forward to doing that on day.

Work In Progress

So I am working on the Machinima documentary for University and I am suffering major qaulity issues when I save from WoW Modol Viewer and when trying to bluescreen. I soldier on! I have mostly been playing with ideas and seeing what I can actualy achieve. However working through a puppeteering method of Machinima single-handedly may be difficult - looks like I will be employer some fellow players with this before the time is through!

The current Dissertation title stands as:

Machinima - An examination of the new driving force of Internet animation and film-making with specific reference to the World of Warcraft MMORPG.

In the documentary I will cover the progressive history of Machinima starting from the original demo formats from Doom and Quake and the now expansive communities and modding that allows Machinimators to produce the high quality films we see today through games such as Unreal Tournament, Battlefield, Halo, World of Warcraft, etc. These peices will be produced using mostly montage and footage as reference, such as Diary of a Camper and Quad God.

Other information to be covered in the documentary will include Mods, Genres of Machinima, Machinima in TV/Music/etc. How it compares to more traditional forms of production (particularly animation) and finally how Machinima has become one of the most popular forms of interntet animation and film-making. I will be predominately using modern Machinima produced in WoW as myself will be using WoW.

As mentioned I am going to use a 'film company' working on set to help explain some of the dynamics and technical bits of Machinima making. This includes the director, actors, crew, etc. each addresses appropriate areas of the process. And because they are essentially producing a movie I am going to try and work a short trailer to this movie within the credits of the Machinima, and if I can after my University year is over I want to continue making it into a full Machinima. So to amuse and indulge myself I have made some film posters to the upcoming movie, Avatar! Of course, through the achinima documentary we will only see the production side of Avatar.

After an ancient relic of Azeroth, the Carcer Stone is stolen from the ruins of an old temple the world of Azeorth finds istself at the mercy of one of the most powerful Demons of its past, Hasael.

Under orders from the King of Stormwind the young priestess Orwyne Hopeseek seeks out the missing relics of the old world. Enlisting the help a group of mercenaries under the command of Aldren Eagleheart, son of the shamed Gustov Eagleheart, once hero of the alliance.

Unleasing the demon trapped with the stolen the undead mage Phexides Rotbottom taps into power beyond his darkest dreams and helps lead Hasael's army into the mortal world.

Other than self indulgence, these sort of designs will allow me add to my required portfolio of ideas and designs, as well as production notes, script, storyboard and development of my work.

So my documentary will not lack in terms of visuals I am creating a host of characters to, well, host the information. The main host will be a young female gnome named Clinker who will be the predominant voice over and visual representative on screen.

Other characters for the Machinima, including the Avatar character sheets can be seen here.

I have to admit that my ideas for this project are endless but I will have to swallow my pride and admit there is only so much I can do, and, after all, the documentary is only meant to be 15-20 minutes long. I will just have to keep all my enthusiasm for other projects!

Stay tuned for more work in progress images and, if all goes to plan, trailers and snippets of the video work!

Also, keep an eye out for my work on the 'Rogue's Do It From Behind' video contest from Blizzard. If I can concentrate on this between or after my dissertation I would like to make a serious entry... I have plans in mind for this (although the song itself is terrible :| )

Dissertation Machinima Project

I am currently working on a documentary about Machinima for my final year dissertation at University. The documentary itself will be produced as a 'Machinima'. I will be covering the subject of machinima origins before covering the more technical side of things, as well as genres, well known projects and the impact of machinima on internet communities and online gaming as well as the media.

As this is my first Machinima other than gameplay videos I have chosen to work in the World Of Warcraft MMORPG (WoW). I know this deviates from the traditional view of manipulating a game engine for the use of making footage, but this is one of the online games I am most familiar with other than FPSs and allows a much more nuetral setting for viewers not familiar with gaming (and since my target audience are my collective course members, there are sadly few who have any interests in gaming). Within the Machinima itself will be the production of another Machinima (ah, the conundrum wrapped in a riddle stuffed with a enigma metaphor is right round the corner...). It will star the characters of WoW as the film and tech crew including the actors, director, sound and special effects guys who will help explain the dynamics of Machinima production.

WoW based Machinima has become increasingly popular. One of the deciding moments for me when I was deciding on this project and if to go ahead with it was when I saw the video I'm So Sick from Baron Soosdon using the Flyleaf track of the same name ("I'm So Sick"). I was previously aware of Baron Soosdon's work and never paid much attention to Machinima itself. But I was utterly astonished by this peice and looked deeper into his portfolio of Machinima and found myself falling in love with the beautiful and haunting works he produces along side his more light hearted and delicious visuals he pulls off using WoW. I would say to any aspiring Machinimator or even just a fan of the videos to see this if you haven't already. As said, it is awe-inspiring and Baron Soosdon himself is worth watching for future marvels.

Of course we have all enjoyed the skill, stunt and gameplay videos from other games like the Battlefield FPS series, Half-Life, Counter Strike, Halo and even speedruns from the classics like Super Mario Brothers and Doom. Speed-runs and stunt videos aside, games have been manipulated into a fantastic medium for expression. Series such as Red vs Blue and The Strangerhood from Rooster Teeth, The Great and Majestic Empire by UK Mercs, as well as other one-shot Machinima films have taken the games and given its players a whole new medium of access, and inspiration.

I also give nods to the Machinima works specifically using WoW which really have given me inspiration and a bloody good laugh, such as Illegal Danish: Super Snacks series from and its continuing Myndflame, the music videos by Mike Spiff Booth for Jonothan Coulton's music including Re: Eat Your Brains and Code Monkey.

As far as my own skills go, I have already received training in editing with both adobe products and the industry standard Avid software so I am conformable in editing. I have also self-taut myself a lot of the skills needed in Photoshop and other like-minded programs. However, I have to work out the real ins and outs of manipulating the game, it's maps and models to the fullest so I can create my own project which I will be proud of. As my research and script work develop I will keep you all posted on my dissertation project and the Machinima process.